diff --git a/statsd/statsd.go b/statsd/statsd.go
index 71a113cfc..2557f2d4a 100644
--- a/statsd/statsd.go
+++ b/statsd/statsd.go
@@ -67,6 +67,16 @@ const (
 	entityIDTagName = "dd.internal.entity_id"
 )
 
+type noClientErr string
+
+// ErrNoClient is returned if statsd reporting methods are invoked on
+// a nil client.
+const ErrNoClient = noClientErr("statsd client is nil")
+
+func (e noClientErr) Error() string {
+	return string(e)
+}
+
 /*
 Stat suffixes
 */
@@ -220,7 +230,7 @@ func (c *Client) format(name string, value interface{}, suffix []byte, tags []st
 // SetWriteTimeout allows the user to set a custom UDS write timeout. Not supported for UDP.
 func (c *Client) SetWriteTimeout(d time.Duration) error {
 	if c == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Client is nil")
+		return ErrNoClient
 	}
 	return c.writer.SetWriteTimeout(d)
 }
@@ -307,7 +317,7 @@ func copyAndResetBuffer(buf *bytes.Buffer) []byte {
 // Flush forces a flush of the pending commands in the buffer
 func (c *Client) Flush() error {
 	if c == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Client is nil")
+		return ErrNoClient
 	}
 	c.Lock()
 	defer c.Unlock()
@@ -361,7 +371,7 @@ func (c *Client) sendMsg(msg []byte) error {
 // send handles sampling and sends the message over UDP. It also adds global namespace prefixes and tags.
 func (c *Client) send(name string, value interface{}, suffix []byte, tags []string, rate float64) error {
 	if c == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Client is nil")
+		return ErrNoClient
 	}
 	if rate < 1 && rand.Float64() > rate {
 		return nil
@@ -419,7 +429,7 @@ func (c *Client) TimeInMilliseconds(name string, value float64, tags []string, r
 // Event sends the provided Event.
 func (c *Client) Event(e *Event) error {
 	if c == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Client is nil")
+		return ErrNoClient
 	}
 	stat, err := e.Encode(c.Tags...)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -437,7 +447,7 @@ func (c *Client) SimpleEvent(title, text string) error {
 // ServiceCheck sends the provided ServiceCheck.
 func (c *Client) ServiceCheck(sc *ServiceCheck) error {
 	if c == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Client is nil")
+		return ErrNoClient
 	}
 	stat, err := sc.Encode(c.Tags...)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -455,7 +465,7 @@ func (c *Client) SimpleServiceCheck(name string, status ServiceCheckStatus) erro
 // Close the client connection.
 func (c *Client) Close() error {
 	if c == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Client is nil")
+		return ErrNoClient
 	}
 	select {
 	case c.stop <- struct{}{}:
diff --git a/statsd/statsd_test.go b/statsd/statsd_test.go
index d36c98a43..6b32bc79b 100644
--- a/statsd/statsd_test.go
+++ b/statsd/statsd_test.go
@@ -537,23 +537,34 @@ func TestSendMsgUDP(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestNilSafe(t *testing.T) {
+func TestNilError(t *testing.T) {
 	var c *Client
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.SetWriteTimeout(0) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Flush() })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Close() })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Count("", 0, nil, 1) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Histogram("", 0, nil, 1) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Distribution("", 0, nil, 1) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Gauge("", 0, nil, 1) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Set("", "", nil, 1) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() {
-		c.send("", "", []byte(""), nil, 1)
-	})
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.Event(NewEvent("", "")) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.SimpleEvent("", "") })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.ServiceCheck(NewServiceCheck("", Ok)) })
-	assertNotPanics(t, func() { c.SimpleServiceCheck("", Ok) })
+	tests := []func() error{
+		func() error { return c.SetWriteTimeout(0) },
+		func() error { return c.Flush() },
+		func() error { return c.Close() },
+		func() error { return c.Count("", 0, nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Incr("", nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Decr("", nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Histogram("", 0, nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Distribution("", 0, nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Gauge("", 0, nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Set("", "", nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Timing("", time.Second, nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.TimeInMilliseconds("", 1, nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.send("", "", []byte(""), nil, 1) },
+		func() error { return c.Event(NewEvent("", "")) },
+		func() error { return c.SimpleEvent("", "") },
+		func() error { return c.ServiceCheck(NewServiceCheck("", Ok)) },
+		func() error { return c.SimpleServiceCheck("", Ok) },
+	}
+	for i, f := range tests {
+		var err error
+		assertNotPanics(t, func() { err = f() })
+		if err != ErrNoClient {
+			t.Errorf("Test case %d: expected ErrNoClient, got %#v", i, err)
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 func TestEvents(t *testing.T) {